Visions
by QueenKarin13
Summary: Ichigo encounters an unranked espada who has a mission from Lord Aizen. He has a rare and powerful ability that only one in every trillion hollows gets, and he can send his victim into a world of dreams or even another dimension to face their worst fears. Of course, the substitute soul reaper and his friends get caught up in the middle of everything... NO PAIRINGS.
1. Chapter 1

**First fanfic! Reviews will help me on improving with a first like this.**

**I don't own Bleach.**

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Karakura town, Kurosaki Clinic_

Carefully, so as to not make a sound, he tiptoed down the hall and to the door. He rested his hand on the doorknob, turned it, and then pushed the door open with a gentle creak. He walked over to the orange-haired teenager who was sleeping soundly in his bed and peered over him…

"ICHIGOOO!" the man shouted, his foot getting ready for a killer side kick to knock the wind out of Ichigo Kurosaki. Before he could release his awesome move though, a different foot was already in his face, knocking him back out the door and sending him crashing into several different pieces of furniture.

"DAD! This is really getting old!" Ichigo yelled. "It's freaking six o' clock in the morning!"

"Your skills have improved greatly, my son!" Isshin Kurosaki shouted while pushing himself out of what had once been a small table with a flower vase on it. "You make me proud!"

"Why do I bother." Ichigo growled, but his dad was already rushing downstairs to help Yuzu get breakfast ready for themselves, Ichigo, and Karin, who was still asleep.

"As long as you're up you might as well get ready for school." Rukia slid open the closet door, already fully dressed in her Karakura High school uniform.

"You heard all that!?"

"Of course, you and your dad are so loud, Ichigo. I've gotten used to it though." Rukia replied.

"You know Rukia, you could always stay in a hotel or something. It would be quiet and there would be a lot more room for you to sleep." Ichigo hefted his bag up onto one shoulder and put one hand on his doorknob. "This special group of hollows you were sent here to kill was sighted near the other side of town anyway."

"I'm used to staying here, Ichigo. It's nothing personal, your room is familiar to me, that's all." Rukia looked away. "If you want me to leave though, well, that's also fine, I don't want you to feel like I'm intruding." The room felt tense and silent for a moment except for the click of the doorknob and the door as it swung open.

"Whatever, Rukia. I don't really care either way. Now come on, we should eat breakfast and get moving."

"Fine then Ichi-"

"RUKIAAA!" an annoying voice interrupted, a yellow stuffy zooming out of the bedside table drawer, heading on a collision course for his sweet girl. Then _SQUEAK!_ "Mmmf! Mfmmmf!" Kon's head was suddenly wedged between the floor and a girl's size brown shoe. A red knot pulsed in the corner of Rukia's head as she twisted her foot on Kon's face repeatedly.

"Give it up already Kon. It's pathetic after a while." Ichigo said. Then he had an afterthought and smirked. " But not as pathetic as Rukia's drawings when she tried to explain the attack plan for destroying those hollows last night."

"Don't criticize my drawings you imbecile! It was a good plan regardless!"

"Oh yeah? Well Chappy the Bunny dancing around the page didn't exactly paint a clear picture!" As the two continued to bicker, the atmosphere in Ichigo's room settled back to normal, all awkwardness erased. Sometimes it was just plain weird having a soul reaper in your closet.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Karakura Park_

"Oh that orange one feels tasty, yesss, very tasty. His soul is so concentrated and full of spirit, I can feel it from this far away! Yesss, I want it."

"Shut up, you buffoon! You're far to much of a _weakling _to even have a the smallest chance at him!"

"But whyyy! I can get stronger you know! I am an arrancar after all!"

"Bah! In your dreams, idiot."

"Stop bickering you two, you're both weak. Only the Boss could handle someone like him."

"Oh you're absolutely right! The Boss is one of the most powerful out of all of our kind because he is-"

The three hollows hissed in unison, "-an espada."

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Karakura High, Class 3-1_

Ichigo was bored. Utterly, and completely, bored. All of these awesome adventures had been happening lately in the soul reaper world, and returning to his normal, boring life was almost unbearable. Even the hollows were all small fry that popped up only once a week or so, and they usually got killed by the afro soul reaper (Emoyama?) in charge of Karakura town (he didn't have the skills for any bigger hollows anyway). The small group of challenging ones that Rukia was after were in hiding at the moment, so they didn't count until they showed themselves.

Ichigo's human friends, Chad, Orihime, and Uryu, weren't even bothered by the lack of action. They seemed perfectly happy living their lives and being normal high schoolers for the time being. Lost in these thoughts, Ichigo stared out the window, almost wishing for Rukia to say-

"Ichigo!" Rukia hissed at the exact same time his combat pass started blinking. Ichigo snapped back to reality. "There are three hollows with extremely high spiritual pressure near the park, and they're at arrancar level!"

The substitute soul reaper was never more happy to hear that the monsters needed killing. "Let's go then!" he followed Rukia outside, Chad, Orihime, and Uryu following close behind a moment later, having overheard what Rukia said in her loud whisper.

"We'll be right back!" Orihime paused to say to her teacher. "It's just… the bathroom! Yeah that's it!" she smiled and rushed out after her friends.

"Honestly those kids! What do they have that's so important they have to skip class like that?" the teacher exclaimed. "It's obviously more than just the bathroom, they've been doing this multiple times, and who goes together like that anyway!? Well, ignore them children. As I was saying, your project on literature is due by…" and Miss Ochi continued on with her announcement.

Only one high schooler was genuinely concerned and suspicious of the group of students who had just gone outside and were now running across the school's lawn. That high schooler made up her mind to follow them and find out where they were going, and also find out where they'd been going all the other times Orihime, Ichigo, Chad, Rukia, and Uryu had run out of class for "the bathroom". She was tired of just waiting around for an explanation, she was going to find one herself. Tatsuki didn't say a word as she ran out after them.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**This bottom part used to be another chapter but I'm mushing the beginning chapters together because they were too short at first. If you see any reviews that don't seem to fit the chapter they're describing, that's probably the reason.**


	2. Chapter 2

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Karakura Town, North 21st St._

"He never tells me anything." Tatsuki said to herself as she ran after Ichigo and his friends from a distance. "And what's up with Orihime going with him? Uryu certainly never cared before either. I hate being kept in the dark like this!" The purple haired girl clenched her fists harder, fighting back tears of frustration as she ran. "Of all people, Orihime. I never expected you to keep secrets from me like Ichigo." Tatsuki bit back more words that would only frustrate her more. She kept running.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Karakura Town, South 21st St._

"Rukia, have they changed their position at all?" Ichigo peered over at Rukia's soul phone, still running. "Are these hollows part of your mission?"

"No, they're still at the park, and yes, this is my mission. Their position almost comes across like they're waiting for something," Rukia replied.

"Or someone," Uryu added. "It could be a trap."

"We've fought hollows before. I think we can handle this," rumbled Chad.

"Chad's right. We can do this!" Orihime agreed firmly with her usual positive attitude.

"As long as we've got each other's backs. Right, Chad?" Ichigo made eye contact with Chad and they were both reminded of the promise they made to each other.

"Hmmm." Chad agreed.

"And remember that goes for all of us," Uryu said. "Not just for you and Chad, Ichigo. We're all in this together now."

"Yeah yeah I know. Let's pick up the pace guys, we're almost there!" Two minutes later their feet thudded to a stop, the park now in clear view right in front of them. Lampposts lined relatively weedless paths that criss-crossed through the park, passing benches, trees, flower bushes, and a swing set. Leaves blew here and there, pushed by a gentle, warm breeze.

"So? Where are they?" Uryu asked impatiently, completely disregarding the beautiful day. "I can't even sense their spiritual-" The air suddenly felt like it weighed a ton. It pushed down on the group until Orihime cried out and fell on the grass.

"Orihime!" yelled Rukia, who was closest to the orange haired girl.

"I can feel it now Uryu," Chad said, his right arm already transformed into a special red and black armor. "Their spiritual pressure is strong."

"I think we got that Chad!" Uryu responded to the obvious statement, his arm above his head as if to shield himself from the heaviness. "But where are they?" The group looked wildly around as Rukia helped Orihime to her feet and offered some support to her friend, who was wobbling on her feet.

"I'm okay now, thanks for the help," Orihime said gratefully as she regained her balance and stepped away from Rukia to stand on her own.

"I'll try and sense them. With that much spiritual pressure they can't be far." Rukia closed her eyes and concentrated. After thirty seconds, she snapped them open and said, "I'm almost certain I can feel their presence coming from-"

"From where, little soul reaper? How about here!" the arrancar screeched as he tore his claws up Rukia's body.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Karakura Town, South 21st St._

Tatsuki felt something strange. It felt like it was about to rain really hard, but the sky was perfectly clear. All the more reason to keep running. The park was only two more miles away, and, being the most athletic girl in her grade, she decided to sprint the remaining way. Tatsuki knew she'd have enough energy remaining to help her friends with whatever they were doing anyway. Their secret wasn't anything she couldn't handle, right?

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Karakura Park_

Rukia gasped, her own blood arcing up in front of her. Orihime's scream for her seemed millions of miles away, even though the girl was only two feet beside her. She started to fall backwards. A foot away from the ground, someone caught her. She vaguely wondered if it was Ichigo, some area inside her slightly miffed that she had to rely on him all the time (if it even was Ichigo). Too late she realized the hardness of the hands holding her, the evil little chuckle as the arrancar cracked her in the back of the head and sent her sprawling on the ground. Everything started to go black. The last thing she saw was a golden barrier around her as a girl said to herself, "I was standing right next to her, but I couldn't do anything!" Orihime's voice cracked, "If only I had the power to fight…"

"You bastard!" Ichigo turned to the hollow who struck his friend down. "I'll kill you for that!" he drew Zangetsu and pointed it forward. "Bankai!" Spirit energy glowed bright blue around him, and his robes and fighting skills transformed into a darker, red and black theme. Then he charged at the hollow with a loud yell.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Tatsuki sprinted as fast as she could the remaining distance to the park. What immediately caught her attention was nothing she ever would have expected. Ichigo was dressed up in a black and red robe and he was fighting with extreme skill and precision, like it was second nature. He had a long black sword and was battling a person- wait, not a person, it felt… wrong, not human. He was blasting it with huge black arcs of pure _power_, and they were moving so fast it was like Ichigo and his opponent were teleporting.

Tatsuki had never thought of Ichigo as powerful before. Sure, he was on top of things, but he didn't come across to her as _powerful, _especially not when she remembered how a single punch from her when they were younger would send him crying to his mom. Her eyes widened. What the hell was _happening_? She felt completely out of place. Chad and Uryu had their own opponents as well, and Uryu was shooting arrows at his opponent whilst Chad was punching blasts of energy at his. Whenever their shots misfired, they blew up a tree, or blasted a crater in the ground. Then the hollows would laugh at them ("Is that all ya got!?"), argue with each other and call each other names in the middle of the battle, and dive back into the fight with insults at their opponents and their teammates, backed up with more mad cackling.

Ichigo yelled and fired another dark crescent at his enemy, but he-it? sidestepped.

"Oh, you'll have to do better than that, soul reaper! Otherwise you won't be worth my time or the boss's!" The arrancar said with a malicious smile.

What shocked Tatsuki was when Ichigo's blast hit several miles away from the park. A huge explosion blasted up and a shockwave rippled out. The blast wasn't what truly scared her though. What was truly terrifying was that no one payed attention to it, not even Ichigo, who went right back to fighting. It was like everyone had seen bigger explosions, faced worse than this, maybe even risked their lives and come close to dying, and Tatsuki had had no idea the entire time they were doing it.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Reviews are helpful! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Karakura Park_

Tatsuki balled her hand into a fist, her fingernails digging into her palm and drawing blood. Everyone had this other life that she'd never even known about, and now that she'd seen it for herself, she was still _completely useless_. She was so angry, but there was nothing to do now but watch, or she'd get in the way and be killed by one of the monsters who looked like humans. She headed over to a tree and climbed onto a thick branch, immediately noticing once up higher that Rukia was seriously injured. Tatsuki felt concerned, but then she also noticed that Orihime had special healing powers to help Rukia. She'd never told her best friend in the world about that either. When this was all over, she was going to have a talk with everyone down there, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Ichigo and his friends were being pushed to the limit. They were each having to use their last resorts to kill these arrancars, Uryu with his Seele Schneider, and Chad with his left arm of the Devil. Their opponents seemed surprised then scared, and Ichigo knew that his friends were going to win. He would look weak if he didn't use his own last resort and defeat the hollow in front of him, who was the one who struck Rukia and who appeared to be the strongest of the three arrancars.

"Your life ends here you filthy monster," Ichigo said, and he pulled his hollow mask on with a yell of two voices: Ichigo's voice and the voice of the hollow inside him. But suddenly, wait, was that… Ichigo looked around, almost certain he'd heard a third voice, a gasp of fear coming from the trees. There was nothing. _I'm imagining things,_ Ichigo thought, and he refocused back to his fight.

The arrancar put on a poker face, but not before Ichigo saw the surprise in his eyes at the mask of one of his own kind on a mere soul reaper.

"You're finished!" Ichigo shouted, and his hollowfied Getsuga Tenshou blasted the enemy to dust in one fast but deadly shot. Ichigo ripped his mask off and floated to the ground. He dispelled the spiritual energy of his Bankai and met up with Chad and Uryu.

"You guys all right?" Ichigo asked.

"I was going to ask you that," replied Uryu.

"Hmmm," Chad said in his own way that he was fine too.

Suddenly, Ichigo snapped to attention. "Rukia," he remembered, and he rushed over to where Orihime was rejecting the damage to his long time fighting partner.

"Orihime, is she alright?"

"She'll be fine, physically."

"What does that mean?" There was a pause. "Orihime, answer me dammit!" Ichigo surprised himself, swearing at Orihime like that. She looked at him, stunned, with those unbearably innocent eyes. "Sorry. But tell me, is Rukia going to be alright?"

"There's spirit energy from that hollow trapped inside her mind. I- I can't reject it." Orihime said. She felt like she did on the day she confessed to Rangiku about her jealousy of Rukia, even though it was completely irrational. The way Rukia had immediately forced Ichigo out of his slump when Orihime couldn't still came into her dreams at night and awakened that jealousy. Rukia had a connection, a one-of-a-kind bond with Ichigo that could not be broken, and Orihime was just on the side of their much deeper friendship.

"But how is that possible? The hollow wasn't that strong!" Ichigo shouted.

"Wow, wow, quiet down Ichigo!" Uryu raised his hands. "Raising your voice won't get us anywhere."

"Uryu's right," Chad said.

"My theory on this is that the hollow who fought Rukia didn't use his own spiritual pressure on her, if it's trapped in Rukia's mind it's obviously more powerful than anything a non-espada could produce. His master was most-likely an espada who lent the one arrancar some of his own extremely powerful spirit energy, and then the 'boss', as he called his superior, sent him here to put you out of commission Ichigo."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why did he go for Rukia then?"

Uryu, of course, had an explanation. "He went for one of your friends to get you angry so he could go after you instead. Unfortunately for him, you were too powerful. But that still leaves Rukia in bad shape, and that's our problem now."

"Well how is she going to recover then?" Ichigo didn't feel like they were getting any closer to a solution.

"I-I'm so sorry, that I can't heal her," Orihime interrupted. Everyone looked at her.

"Don't worry it's not your fault. If you can't, then we'll find another way," Ichigo said reassuringly. As an afterthought, he added, "And sorry for snapping at you, I was still in a battle mindset and everything seemed to be stuck for a moment there when Rukia got hurt."

Now everyone looked at him. "You should apologize more often Ichigo," Uryu sounded slightly impressed. "It actually sounded genuine."

"Shut up, that's the last time I'll ever say I'm sorry then."

Chad cleared his throat to get his friends back on track. "There's nothing we can really do except to trust in Rukia that she'll be able to bring herself out of her sleep and back to this world. We can only wait guys."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Tatsuki took this as an opportunity. She leapt down from her tree and strode over to the soul reapers, the Quincy, her best friend, and Chad. She folded her arms in front of her and tried to look unforgiving.

"I saw it all." Tatsuki had meant to sound tough, but her voice shook.

"Tatsuki!" Everyone except Rukia, who was of course out cold, jumped slightly and looked surprised.

"You were watching the entire time?" Ichigo looked the most astounded.

"You're damn right. I saw how all of you fought those things, and I saw just how big of a secret you've all been hiding from me!" Tatsuki was enraged.

"Tatsuki," Uryu started, "it was for your own-"

"Oh no you don't!" She was on a roll now, and would not be interrupted. "I want you to spit out everything you've done behind my back! I KNOW that you all have done much more dangerous things than this, and you're going to tell me! Especially you two," She glared through a thin layer of unshed tears at Ichigo and Orihime. "You, my best friend until the end, never told me a thing!" Orihime looked down guiltily. "And you!" She gave the evil eye to Ichigo now. "What did you do to yourself that made you look like another one of those monsters? It was unnatural and terrifying! I can't believe you-"

"Tatsuki," Ichigo suddenly got serious and his eyes were shadowed. "We don't have time for this right now. And Chad, we can't wait, we have to get Rukia to Kisuke."

Tatsuki quickly felt guilty. In her anger, she'd completely forgotten about Rukia's injuries. "Fine then, hurry. Because I have a lot more to say to you people!"

"Sure, Tatsuki." Ichigo said, and he took Rukia and flash stepped away to Kisuke's shop. Orihime looked back at Tatsuki apologetically before running after Chad and leaving her friend alone in the park with her feelings of frustration.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	4. Chapter 4

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Urahara's Shop_

Ichigo sat on his heels with his hands on his knees beside the makeshift bed that Rukia was sleeping soundly in. Orihime, Chad, and Uryu were gathered as well in similar positions while Kisuke relayed the analysis he had made about the espada's spirit energy to them.

"According to the data I've gathered, this espada is ranked five or higher. The extraction process I've come up with for taking the spirit energy out of our young friend here will take quite a while, but at the end of it Rukia should be as good as new."

"That's good," Uryu breathed.

"Hmmm," Chad agreed.

"Is there any way I can help with my powers? Maybe I can speed up the process a bit," Orihime said hopefully.

"If your abilities didn't work the first time you tried to heal her, they won't do me any good now," Kisuke announced.

"Geez Kisuke, you don't have to be so mean about it," Ichigo said while rolling out the stiffness in his neck.

"Well you certainly seem relaxed, Ichigo." Uryu noticed, and he pushed his glasses up. "Just a while ago you were shouting at everyone because you were worried about Rukia. It could only mean one thing..." Everyone caught on to what he was implying, including Ichigo. He didn't even blush.

"Uryu, Rukia and I are best friends, but there's nothing more to it. We trust each other and look out for each other's backs just like me and Chad here, and all of you. Besides, all of you are my friends and I'd be equally worried about any of you guys. Uryu, Chad, Orihime." Ichigo made eye contact with everyone in the room to show he was completely honest about what he was saying.

"Aren't you worried about her though Ichigo?" Chad asked.

"There's no need to worry now," Ichigo replied. "I trust Kisuke, he's never failed before at this kind of thing."

"That's true," Chad said. "By the way, did you guys notice that this took up our whole evening right before summer?"

"I gotta go guys sorry!" Orihime burst out suddenly. "I just remembered that Tatsuki invited me to go on vacation with her the week after summer, and I need to pack!"

"Oh yeah, Tatsuki." Ichigo reminded everyone. "We should explain everything to her sometime before she leaves. We'll do that tomorrow though, I have to get home now. Yuzu and Karin will be worried if I don't."

"Good idea. See you guys later!" Uryu said, and everyone went home without any worries, while Kisuke strolled to the back of his shop for the rare customer who'd just shown up. Meanwhile, Rukia's eyes snapped open.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Rukia felt woozy, and slightly sick. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to wake up. Suddenly, an adorable bunny made an appearance in her mind. It jumped over a fence. Several more bunnies did this, and before she knew it, Rukia was asleep again.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_The next time she woke up, she felt alert. She didn't know how much time had passed since she was last awake, but the lighting inside her room was certainly dimmer. Rukia sat up in her bed and waited for the dizziness. None came. She stood up and still felt perfectly fine, so that was good. She paced the room for a while, trying to remember what happened before she got hit. That's right! She looked down at herself in her soul reaper outfit, but there were no bandages. How long had she been asleep? She didn't know, but the last thing she remembered hearing was Orihime wishing she had the power to fight. That seemed about right. Now then, first things first. Rukia had to find Urahara and thank him for keeping her here for as long as he did, then it was off to Ichigo's. Rukia browsed around a bit but she couldn't find a thing except for outdated candy. Kisuke was probably out. She stepped outside and felt the breeze, so warm and refreshing, and she started to walk._

_Ichigo's house was empty. Completely devoid of life. Rukia found this strange, as not even Kon was in his room when she checked. She was starting to worry, what could've happened? After further inspection, Chad and Orihime were gone too from their homes as was Uryu. Now it was getting scary. Rukia started to run to the park where they were last together in one place, it was the only area she could think of. She passed rows of houses and the cemetery, where there was an event going on. It felt wrong to just run by when someone was being payed respects, but she would have to come back later. She continued running, but suddenly she slammed into someone._

_"Hey watch where you're going idi-" she glanced up. "Ikkaku?" He nodded to her._

_"Why are you here? What's going on?" He gestured towards the way she'd come from and quickly turned away._

_"Ikkaku! Don't just say nothing, tell me what's going on."_

_"Rukia, go back."_

_This wasn't getting her anywhere. Rukia turned back and instinctively went to the funeral procession, despite the voice inside her screaming in fear. Something felt undeniably wrong, and it took all her willpower to investigate what it was. Wait was that…_

_"Kisuke!" Rukia called out. He noticed her, but turned away afterwards. What the… Rukia stopped. Her inner voice was taking over her body, controlling her feet and making her turn away from the event. No, no, something's wrong. I can't be this afraid, it's my duty to help people! Rukia took control of herself again and surged forward._

_"Hey what's going on? I don't get-" her sentence died in her throat as the faces of Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu appeared in the pictures above four coffins._

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Rukia. Rukia!" different voicees were calling out to her from somewhere. "Rukia!" Her eyes fluttered open.

"You're finally awake!" Orihime's face smiled at her from the edge of her bed, along with the faces of her other friends.

"You took a full week to recover after Kisuke finally took the spirit energy out of you." Uryu said. "The side effects might have been hallucinations, but what matters is that-"

"You're alright." Everyone said in unison.

"Guys…" Rukia's voice quivered. Then she knocked them all over with a hug.

"What the-"

"Rukia are you really okay?"

"Yeah what exactly did you dream about?"

She didn't even hear them. "I'm so glad I have friends like you." she sniffed. "Even though you are just humans."

"I don't know if that's an insult or a compliment." Chad said.

"Let's just say it's a compliment!" Orihime cheered.

Rukia looked up at each of her friends, remembering specific memories with each of them, especially Ichigo. That fateful day when she gave her powers to him was still as clear as day in her mind, and she never regretted anything that had happened since then. Rukia's eyes were shining as she realized more deeply than ever before that she loved her friends, both here and in the Soul Society, more than anything else in the world, and she would do anything for them. But why did she have that terrifying nightmare? It sent a shiver up her spine.

"Hey don't start celebrating yet." Yoruichi called from the doorway. Everyone turned to face her. "We've just discovered the position of the espada who controlled those arrancars."

**OoOoOoOoO**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the reviews by Writophrenic! :) I've fixed the spellings you pointed out.**

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Kurosaki Clinic_

Tatsuki's eyes were shadowed, her hands clasped together in her lap. Her friends had just explained everything that had happened so far since the time that Rukia had given Ichigo soul reaper powers to the present, including the powers that they all had now. Tatsuki took a deep breath, and everyone tensed. Was was she going to say? They'd watered down most of the fight scenes, but...

"I just wish you told me sooner so I could help," she said. "I don't like it when my friends keep secrets from me, but I guess it's fine if all that you were doing was protecting souls. It's still a lot to take in though." Then her curiosity got the better of her. "Could I meet these other soul reapers you talked about? The ones in the 'thirteen court guard squads'?" Inwardly, everyone sighed. Tatsuki probably wouldn't have taken it so well if she'd actually _seen_ the battles they'd fought prior to this one.

"Sorry Tatsuki, but that's impossible. Even if you can see them, you would not be allowed into the Seireitei," Uryu stated, and he was correct.

"Uryu is absolutely right." Rukia agreed. "Now that you understand, we have to meet with Yoruichi so she can fully explain to us what and where our new enemy is. Come on guys." Rukia started to leave Ichigo's living room with the rest of her friends. They had asked Yoruichi to wait while they explained things to Tatsuki. Their enemy wasn't going anywhere for some reason unlike other times, so Tatsuki was their first priority.

"Wait!" Tatsuki called. "I want to come with you. I've had lots of training at my dojo, I can help!"

"No, you can't." said Ichigo. "It's too dangerous, espadas have way too much power for someone who can't use spirit energy to handle. Wait here, I promise that we'll all come back safely." They made eye contact, and Tatsuki decided to trust him on this.

"Fine, but I'm holding you to your word, Ichigo." He nodded seriously, and walked out with his friends.

_Urahara's Shop_

"This espada-level hollow has been found multiple times by Kisuke and I at this location." Yoruichi said as she pointed to a map of Karakura Town.

"The park?"

"Yes, but it runs away every time we try to get near. It doesn't want us, it's looking for someone specific."

"Is it Ichigo? This thing tried to indirectly get him before as well."

"Most likely. That's why we let you talk to your friend, this hollow is just waiting patiently in one location, so you had time to clear anything up before you fought."

"Well bring it on already then! Enough chat, I can beat it."

"Don't get cocky, this one will be much more powerful than the other arrancars you fought. As I recall, you had to hollowfy for them. If you had to use your last resort on the minions, imagine what their leader is like."

"We'll help then. Five against one is better odds."

"Very well. Go now, and kill this threat to Karakura Town."

**OoOoOoOoO**

The espada was extremely powerful and sly. Ichigo, who was in bankai, Rukia, Chad, and Uryu furiously attacked on four fronts while Orihime provided backup by shielding anyone who needed it in an instant. This particular espada had no number anywhere on it, though it had the usual black and white outfit and it had swamp green hair at shoulder length. His muscle and skills were apparent, but he didn't talk, or challenge, or insult his opponents in the slightest like his subordinates. Very strange behavior for a hollow.

"Uryu, he's wide open on your side!" Chad called while the espada blocked his oncoming punch.

"Got it!" Uryu fired a blazing blue arrow at the hollow, but it was stopped by a forcefield that came out of nowhere.

"What the hell was that Uryu!" yelled Ichigo who hadn't seen the forcefield come up. "You had the perfect chance!"

"He blocked it with a barrier!" The espada lunged for Uryu, but was stopped by an strong orange triangle, courtesy of Orihime.

"Thanks for that!" Uryu called.

"Don't mention it, just keep focused!" came the reply.

The clash continued, and for one brief moment, the air shimmered. Suddenly, the hollow exploded and sent everyone flying, but there was no damage to the espada himself. Then he spoke.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, I am the voice of Justice." his voice was gravely and deep, and it resonated in every nook and cranny. Small rocks jumped up and the inside of the friends' skull vibrated.

"What?" Ichigo's teeth chattered. "Who the hell are you?!"

"You have killed many of my kin, and they have cursed you with their final breath. It is my duty to see their wishes carried out. I do not have a rank or number, for my power is too righteous and godlike to be at the level of any of the others of my kind, I am second only to Aizen. This next move is for the comrades that you destroyed." He leveled his hand at Ichigo's head, and a green light shimmered out, spreading slowly like fog. The fog followed him, even when he tried to dodge, and the more he evaded the faster it came.

"What the hell is this stuff?!" Ichigo shouted. The light curled around his ankle and crawled up towards his head.

"Ichigo!" everyone shouted. He tried to slash the stuff away with Tensa Zangetsu but the fog licked his blade as well and payed no heed.

"This is the vengeful wishes of all your previous hollow victims, compressed into a mist of hatred," the unranked espada rumbled out the lie after his cover story.

"Damn it!" Ichigo yelled as the light finally crept up and swallowed him whole.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Everything around him was a swampy green mess. Ichigo's brain felt like it was jumping around and pounding on his skull for a way out, and his eyes were heavy. He forced them open and vaguely noticed that concrete squares were spiraling above him and drawing closer and closer. The sky was below him too, and it was all dizzyingly circling and spinning…

Ichigo's eyes shot open. He was lying in the middle of the sidewalk, and people were avoiding him and looking at him funny. It's not every day that a random teenager decides to take a nap in such a place. Kids these days. He sat up straight and looked wildly around. He was still in Karakura town, but how could normal people see him? He was a soul… Ichigo looked down at himself and found that he was back in his body. Or not. _Strange…_ _I need to find my friends. _He thought back to the last thing on his mind. _First I was in the park battling that hollow… That's right! He must have blown me away or something, I have to get back and help! _Ichigo sprinted to the park at top speed, ignoring the nagging feeling in his mind and forging ahead. It was late evening, and the park looked completely deserted.

"Dammit, am I too late?" Ichigo wondered aloud, still not realizing what was really happening.

"Late for what? Do you need help mister?"

Ichigo spun around and caught sight of a young black haired girl. His breath caught.

"Karin?" His eyes widened. "Is that you?" This couldn't be happening, there was no way she was still five years old.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	6. Chapter 6

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Karakura Park_

They'd been searching since last night but had found nothing, not even a single bright orange hair. Orihime was close to tears as she swept over the park one more time with her six flowers, while Chad was scouring the surrounding Karakura town and asking around. Rukia and Uryu had their eyes closed and were sitting on tall rocks in meditative positions, mentally scanning for a flicker of the spiritual pressure belonging to their friend. It was frustrating, because spirit energy practically leaked in waves from Ichigo all the time, but there was nothing.

"Ichigo..." Rukia spoke aloud. "Where could you have gone?"

"Wherever he is, we'll find him." Uryu said determined.

"Sounds like you're worried about him." Rukia smirked.

Uryu grimaced and pushed his glasses up. "I am not worried. I'm doing this because I have no choice, end of discussion."

Rukia smiled at his antics, but then frowned. "I just don't get it. There's no way that Ichigo could vanish without a trace, he's the least stealthy person I know, save Renji. Even Kisuke can't find him, and he's the master of crazy miracles."

"Why indeed I am! Thank you for the complement Miss Kuchiki," Kisuke stepped out from behind a tree with cat Yoruichi on his shoulder, his trademark hat shadowing his eyes and a goofy grin on his face. "Although I quite disagree about the part where I can't find him."

Instantly everyone jumped and snapped their attention towards him, including Chad who had come back from town a minute ago with no luck.

"What?"

"You heard me, I can track him. Well technically not, because all traces of his spiritual pressure have disappeared along with his body. But his hollow's spiritual energy is still present, and I can track that," Kisuke said while switching into serious mode.

"Well hurry up then! We don't have all night," Uryu said impatiently.

"It's dawn now, so it's really daytime," Chad corrected. "But I agree, we should hurry."

"Very well then. Everyone gather 'round, this will take quite a bit of spirit energy," ordered Yoruichi. Everyone clustered around the two former captains and awaited further instructions.

"I have a vial of the hollow's spirit energy, but it's not strong enough for me to use, as there was only a trace amount left in the Shattered Shaft," Kisuke explained.

"We need you all to pour your spirit energy into this tube in just the right consistency so that the vial will absorb it and use it to amplify the amount of energy already inside, but not enough to completely overpower the contents," finished Yoruichi.

"So it's like the orb we used when we broke into the Soul Society to save Rukia?" Orihime asked as Rukia looked up curiously.

Kisuke smiled. "Exactly. Now on my mark. 3..."

"2..."

"1..."

"Release!"

With a yell, everyone poured in their spirit energy.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Also Karakura Park?_

"Karin?" Ichigo repeated, his voice shaking ever so slightly. "Is that really you?"

The five-year-old girl looked up at him, confused. "I'm Karin, but how do you know my name? Unless..." Her eyes widened with a sudden realization. "Dad! Dad, come quick!" She looked at him, suddenly angry. "You must be the guy in the park who was following me yesterday!" Karin turned around and ran to her dad, who was running ahead of the family with him as he came to check out the situation.

"Is my little girl okay!?" He fussed worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

"Dad, I think this was the guy following me the other day! He knows my name just like that other person did when he called to me."

Isshin Kurosaki looked over the man standing in front of him, who was frozen with some sort of emotion. This guy's giant spirit energy wasn't the same as the intelligent hollow that had been tracking Karin, learning about her and where she usually went, and waiting for the right opportunity to get her soul (Isshin had had Kisuke kill the stalker monster immediately), but there was something else about the energy that seemed familiar. His orange hair also looked very familiar. Something in the back of his mind said, _You should know this man, you should know who this is..._

The rest of his family arrived after seeing a man pop up out of nowhere, and they were slightly breathless. Masaki was carrying Yuzu while her son held onto her hand. Karin immediately rushed over and clung to her brother.

"Hey," she asked sweetly, "what's going on here..." she trailed off when she saw the man in front of her. "I-I don't understand, I know you, but ho-" What he next said was completely unexpected to the past version of the Kurosaki family.

"You're alive?"

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Karakura Park_

Everyone gasped as a green crack ripped out of nowhere, engulfing the vial and taking a chunk of Kisuke's hat.

"Is this where Ichigo went?" wondered Rukia over the whining in the background about something being, "-irreplaceable!" and, "-my most prized accessory!". "If he's in another dimension, then that explains why we couldn't find him."

"It also leads us to speculate about the hollow that sent him there," Uryu said gravely, the sun making his glasses glint. "I've never heard about any espada or arrancar who had the power of sending another being to an alternate universe."

"Me neither," added Kisuke, who had quickly, but not easily, gotten over the mutilation of his hat. "There's also the case that this is a rip in time, not space. Of course I don't really know for sure either way."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go help Ichigo!" said a determined Orihime.

"Go on," said Kisuke. "I have another vial prepared to bring you back."

"It's also the reason why you four had to make the second vial, Kisuke was fresh out of spirit energy," Yoruichi hopped down from Kisuke's shoulder.

All the friends gathered around the portal and were about to go in when Kisuke added one more thing.

"By the way, when you go in you will be mere presences for the first few minutes of your arrival. No one will be able to notice you and as such you will not be able to interact with anything in that dimension until the protective kido I've cast on you wears off. It was designed to protect you from any hidden enemies who might be expecting you and it will also allow you to get your bearings without having to disrupt the souls or people in that world with your coming. After all, we don't know where you will end up."

And with those words, Rukia, Chad, Orihime, and Uryu stepped into the light.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**It helps if you review below, even if you're just a guest. Thanks! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**OoOoOoOoO**

"B-but how are you..." Ichigo stared wide eyed at his mother. "I don't g-"

"STOP!" someone shouted. It was the orange haired boy. He stepped away from his mother and sister and turned to face the older teen in front of him. "She's Yuzu's, Karin's, and my mom, and she's the best! Who do you think you are coming over here and saying something mean like that to her?" He looked up at the older Ichigo with an unwavering gaze.

Ichigo took a step backward. Was this nine-year old boy... "Are you me?" he asked, the shock and confusion apparent in his voice and on his face. Then he grabbed his head like he was trying to reign in the mess that his mind had become. "I-I don't understand. What's going on here!?" Ichigo staggered backwards and leaned up against the nearest tree trunk.

"Are you okay?" his mother's voice reached out to him, so concerned, and for a moment he felt like he was a little, brightly smiling kid again. Then he saw her face, the wavy, brownish orange hair framing her ever so familiar and loving, kind eyes, and it was all suddenly too much to take. Ichigo slumped down against the tree and started breathing heavily. This was terrifying, his mother was right here in front of him and she didn't even recognize him as her grown son at first sight. It was completely different from the other time with Grand Fisher so long ago, because at least then Ichigo had seen _his_ mother in the golden light, the mother who had been watching over him from somewhere for his whole life, and who recognized her only son even when he was around twice the age he had been when she died. But _this_ Masaki had a different and younger family, and to _this_ woman, Ichigo was a man that she recognized from somewhere, but he was not her little boy who was standing next to her at that moment. Either his family was denying what their hearts told them, or they simply didn't know him at all.

"Hey," little Karin spoke up uncertainly after a silence where only the older Ichigo's unsteady and increasingly fast breathing could be heard. She bit her lip and pushed down the recognition she felt sparking inside her. It was getting in the way of her reasoning, which she deemed more worthy of attention than a random thought from her heart. Besides, her reasoning was trying to determine what that random thought was trying to say. "You look kind of familiar, but who exactly are you?"

Those four last words were the stinging blow to Ichigo's own heart.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Chad, Uryu, Rukia, and Orihime tumbled out of the air in quick succession in that order, landing on the back of whoever came in front of them, or in Chad's case the ground.

"Wow, I can't believe what a nice landing that was!" Orihime clapped her hands happily.

"Maybe for you but I'm being crushed!" yelled Rukia and Uryu.

Chad just grunted and stood up, everyone on top of him falling off his back and onto the grass and the hardness beneath. All except for Orihime, who had two lovely heads to rest her feet on when she stood up.

"OWOWOWOWOW!"

"Oh I'm so sorry Rukia!"

Uryu grunted. "Thanks for including me in your apology."

"Oh you too Uryu!"

"Hmmph."

The group of friends scanned their surroundings. They were on the edge of the park, which was empty. Faint voices were coming from somewhere further in._ It must be Ichigo and someone else,_ they thought. They rushed over as fast as their feet could carry them.

**OoOoOoOoO**

This wasn't happening. Even his own sister, whom he loved and cared for more than anything else, felt no attachment to him (or so Ichigo thought). No one here in his family felt any love for him, not Karin, not Yuzu, not his dad, not his mom, not even the younger version of himself. They didn't care one bit. He was alone. It started building up inside his chest, then it went to his throat, and then finally a heartbreaking scream ripped out of him and into the sky.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The four friends stopped dead in their tracks. Someone had just let loose a shattering cry for all the world to hear, but it was more than just meaningless noise. There was something terribly sad and agonizing behind the scream. Whatever it was, it was almost painful. _No,_ they corrected themselves. _It _was_ painful. _Orihime looked confused just like everyone else, but then she realized. Slowly it dawned on her who had made that sound.

"No, it couldn't be..." she murmured just loud enough for the others to hear and catch on as well.

"Ichigo." Rukia whispered.

"We're coming Ichigo don't worry!" Chad said unusually loudly for him. He would pound whoever was making his best friend suffer. He had promised to throw all his punches for Ichigo's sake after all.

They ran faster than they ever had before in their lives. When they arrived, they were greeted with a completely unexpected sight. Ichigo's own family was right there in front of him plus a lady and a boy, but their friend's back was pressed up against a tree and he looked... well... there wasn't a word for it, the emotion just didn't fit Ichigo's usually calm and collected face. His family looked as shocked as Rukia, Uryu, Chad, and Orihime were, but they had time to figure out why that was later. Chad suddenly realized that he couldn't fight these people who were-or seemed to be-Ichigo's family. He made do with ignoring them for now, and he along with the rest of the group anxiously ran up to their orange-haired friend by the tree.

"Hey, are you alright?" Rukia asked. Silence.

"Ichigo, talk to us dammit!" Uryu demanded.

Instantly, Isshin, Masaki, Yuzu, Karin, and nine-year old Ichigo started.

"Did-did you just call that man... Ichigo?" Isshin asked shakily.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**I know this is fast paced right now and it seems completely separate from the first few chapters, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten any details and it will all tie up later on, just be patient. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Urahara's Shop_

Kisuke sat wondering what the group he sent out was doing at that moment. Their only mission to get Ichigo and meet up at the largest tree in the park, then Rukia would say the password that Kisuke had given her and a green senkaimon would let them back into this world using the spirit energy from Kisuke's vial.

"It's taking them a while, isn't it?" Yoruichi walked into the room in her human form, voicing the shopkeeper's exact thoughts at that moment.

"It sure is," he agreed. "I wonder what is it in the other time or dimension that is stalling them. It's also is bugging me that when the espada's spirit energy first came in contact with Rukia she fell into a deep sleep, but with Ichigo he got transported away completely. I think it has to do with the concentration of the espada's spirit energy, but I'm not sure."

"Well, aren't you going to go find out? You're not one to sit around and wait for a mystery to be solved on its own," his former captain smiled. Kisuke returned the grin with a touch of mad scientist.

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm going to do. First I'll figure out what's going on with that hollow, and if Ichigo and the others aren't back by the time I'm done, then we're going to go and get him." Unbeknownst to Kisuke as he was laying out the details for his plan though, a purple-haired girl was eavesdropping on their conversation from outside the shop and couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ichigo got transported to another dimension by a super-powerful hollow!? No way. It was déjà vu, no matter how much Tatsuki tried to learn about Ichigo and everyone else, and _help_ them, they always had some sort of secret stashed away. She just hoped they were alright, Ichigo had promised after all.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Previous Karakura Park_

"Yes of course I called him Ichigo, you're his family, shouldn't you know!?" Uryu replied angrily. He looked at his friends for support, but they had vanished. He was surprised at first, but then it hit him. _Damn you Kisuke,_ he thought. The protective Kido was wearing off at different times on everyone. His friends were still just presences, but he could no longer see them because he was the only one who had fully materialized.

"But Ichigo is right here!" Yuzu spoke up for the first time after witnessing what was happening. She pointed to her older brother right below her, then jumped out of her mother's arms to stand next to him, as if doing this would help prove that he was the only Ichigo.

"Yeah you're not making any sense. How could he be me when I'm me?" younger Ichigo agreed. "

"He does kind of look like you though," Karin said thoughtfully. "Sort of like he's from the future!" she realized. Then she and her siblings got into an excited discussion about people from the future with cool new gadgets and accessories, completely forgetting the current situation. Every time one of them said something funny, they would all break out into big smiles and happy laughter. Uryu was stunned when he saw this, the Ichigo he knew never smiled like that. It was strange, if this was really the past and Ichigo was like that once, he wondered what could have happened. Speaking of such... he looked down at the substitute soul reaper sitting below him who was trying his best to tune out everything around him and collect himself.

"Ichigo, you need to-" he was cut off when three loud POPS! came from right beside him, and standing there was Chad, Rukia, and Orihime.

"Ichigo!" they shouted, and rushed over to their friend. He finally looked up at them.

"Hey," he managed. "Sorry for worrying you guys if I was a little out of it."

"That's an understatement," Uryu said, but he was relieved just like everyone else. "Why didn't you answer me the first time I tried to talk to you?"

"Like I said, I was a little out of it, but I'm fine now," Ichigo stood up and tried to look like he hadn't almost broken down. "Let's get out of-" he stopped in mid-sentence.

"Ichigo, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Orihime," Ichigo turned away from the eyes of his parents, who were ignoring their children and still looking at the group uncertainly.

"Ichigo, isn't that your..." Rukia trailed off when she saw his face. This wasn't something he wanted to talk about. Rukia remembered the first time she'd tried to make him talk about his mom, and it wasn't easy. _It must be even worse this time, she doesn't even remember him,_ she thought. _No wonder he screamed like that._

"Okay guys, how do we get home?" Ichigo asked tersely.

"Umm... Kisuke told us to have Rukia say the password at the largest tree in the park and then we could go home through a senkaimon," Orhime said nervously. Her eyes flickered back and forth uncertainly from Ichigo to his parents.

"Wait, you know Kisuke?" Isshin latched onto that one bit of information. He then looked at the future version of his son. "Is that true, I...Ichigo?" He wasn't used to calling this serious man by the name of his happy-go-lucky little boy. It was hard for his mind to comprehend that they were the same person when they acted so differently.

"Yeah we know him. Former captain of Squad 12, founder of the Department of Research and Development," Rukia answered for Ichigo, and he was grateful for that.

"But how are you involved in anything to do with the Soul Society? I've kept Ichigo away from all that stuff." Isshin said referring to his little son.

"Ichigo, he'll keep asking questions and stalling us if you don't show him who you really are," Chad said.

"Wait what do you mean by 'who Ichigo really is'?" Isshin was so confused, and his wife was too taken aback at what was happening to even do anything except look stunned.

Silently, Ichigo pressed his combat pass to his chest and his soul reaper form shot out of his body.

"Does this answer your questions?" Ichigo addressed his parents, whose expressions were unreadable. "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper of Karakura Town."

**OoOoOoOoO**

**I'm starting to tie stuff up, and don't worry, there will be some action soon. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Remember, I'm mushing chapters together so reviews posted prior to my major revising might not describe the chapter they're on, they will probably be for a later chapter. Don't be confused by that, and please enjoy the story! :)**

**OoOoOoOoO**

Recap: "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper of Karakura Town."

After that statement, there was a silence that lasted a full thirty seconds. Then Isshin broke it.

"What the hell." It was a whisper. "I kept you completely isolated from all that stuff so you could grow up normally, it was useless knowledge anyway. Now you're right back into the whole mess of the Soul Society, and you're a soul reaper too on top of that. What happened?"

Then there was a long silence. Then Isshin started smiling.

"Whatever happened, it must have been awesome!" everyone was shocked at the dramatic change of character. "Masaki, my little boy is a grown-up soul reaper, probably with lots of amazing power! He could be stronger than I was for all we know, oh I'm so proud!" and he immediately switched into goofy dad mode and started hugging Masaki with anime tears streaming in rivers down his eyes. (No one heard the part where he referred to himself as a soul reaper over everyone's sounds of disbelief at his reaction.) Ichigo just had to smile, his dad was talking to Mom in the exact way he did with her poster at home.

"Oh honey I'm so glad you're proud, because I am too! I bet that Ichigo could beat Tatsuki in karate now!" his mom replied in her honey voice with a happy smile on her face.

"Well I'm just glad that you recognize me completely now," Ichigo said still smiling. It was a huge relief to finally have his parents, and more importantly his mom, realize that he was indeed their son, and that relief was apparent in his voice. His parents became serious and felt guilty all of a sudden. How could they put their only son through what they had just done by acting like he was a stranger? They would make up for it somehow. Speaking of completely ignoring Ichigo...

"Yuzu?"

"Karin, Ichigo?" the parents called out while looking around.

Uryu spoke up. "They must've gotten bored. They're only children after all," At that, Rukia, Chad, Orihime, and Uryu turned and snickered at their orange haired friend after seeing him as a little kid.

"You were a cute little boy, Ichigo," Rukia teased. Ichigo turned towards her to retaliate and the all too familiar bickering broke out while everyone just sighed with the familiarity of it all. At the expressions of his parents, who weren't used to how Rukia and their older son were nose to nose shouting insults at each other, Orihime couldn't hold back a short laugh. Pretty soon, everyone was laughing and clutching their stomachs.

"Oh boy, was that funny! A lot more than usual for some reason!" Orihime was slapping her knee with laughing tears barely visible at the edges of her eyes.

"Yeah you got that right!" Isshin wiped a said tear away from his face. "But we should really start looking for the kids now."

"We'll help! Kisuke can wait a bit longer for us," Orihime's kind spirit made the offer out of the blue without any consent from her friends whatsoever.

"Thank you very much, you don't know how much this means to us," Ichigo's mom smiled at Orihime and hugged her while she blushed. Wow! Who knew Ichigo had such a kind mom? No wonder he changed from the boy Tatsuki told her he used to be when his mother died... No! Happy thoughts! Skewered donuts! Potato cake with extra icing...

"It shouldn't be that hard to spot the 'bright light piercing through the darkness' that is Ichigo's hair after all." Rukia interrupted her thoughts with a taunt in her voice.

"Take that back midget!"

"Only if you find yourself first!"

"So it's a competition now?"

"You bet!" Ichigo jumped into his body and shook the stiffness out. The method was effective, but it looked hilarious. "Three, two, one, GO!" and with that, orange and black heads dashed off straight through the park with no particular plan, searching for Ichigo's younger self and leaving a brown dust trail behind.

"Are they always like that?" Isshin asked after everyone's coughing fits subsided. In the back of his mind he wondered why he could even see his son in the first place when he was in his soul reaper form. On top of that, how could Masaki see him too? Then the answer came to him and he smiled with pride. His son had so much spirit energy, it affected everyone around him and gave them some insight into the spirit world. The effects were probably only temporary, but... Isshin stole a sideways glance at the humans. If Ichigo hung around them often, then the exposure would have long term or permanent effects on them. The proud dad shook his head and smiled. Ichigo had spirit energy, but in the future he would have to learn to control it. That training was some time along the road though.

"Yep," Uryu answered Isshin's previous question, not noticing that the man had zoned out for a bit there. "The best option now would be to find Ichigo's younger sisters, since he and Rukia have got little Ichigo covered. Chad, Orihime, you come with me to find Karin. Would you two be willing to find Yuzu?"

"Of course. After that we'll help you, because since Yuzu always knows to come back to her ol' daddy, our part shouldn't take too long!" after Isshin said that with a thump to his chest, they separated to search for the little ones. Urahara was kept waiting a little longer. Uryu smirked. _Boy would this tick him off. What's he doing now anyway?_

**OoOoOoOoO**


	10. Chapter 10

**OoOoOoOoO**

The swamp haired being looked hungrily around the small shop. Now where was that sneaky traitor? He'd learned too much about the plan with that damned research of his, Kisuke had to be wiped out before he warned the preciously innocent test subjects.

"Show yourself," the deep voice suddenly reverberated around the shop, almost causing it to collapse. A minute slowly passed by while nothing happened. "Very well, I will come to you instead."

Kisuke heard the light footsteps drawing closer and closer, and he hurriedly tried to finish what he was working on. His hands flew across the mechanism while Yoruichi chanted in the background to put the final Kido spell into it. The button he was making was designed to draw out the power of the espada and take a portion of it to trap in the remote, which was already finished and lying off to the side. This way, Kisuke could go back and forth to where his human friends were without having to use buckets of spirit energy every time.

"So here you are," the hollow said as he entered the room. "I was wondering why you didn't come out to greet me like a good host should."

Kisuke felt vibrations rippling through his body at the espada's voice, but he still managed to slap on a grin. "Well hello there! My deepest apologies, I was busy."

"With what exactly?"

"With this!" Kisuke exclaimed as he pressed the finished button behind his back, and green spirit energy started to flow from the hollow into the remote in Yoruichi's human hand. Expecting a reaction he said, "Not so chatty now, are you?" The monster just gave a small smile.

"You don't honestly think that you've depleted my vast amounts of power?" he smirked. "You can keep that insignificant bit, it's not like I can't... follow you before you tell anyone your findings," he ended his sentence in a barely present whisper that the two former captains couldn't hear. Then he sonidoed away to wait for just the right moment.

"What did he say?"

"No idea, but it doesn't matter. Let's go find Ichigo and tell him and the others to get a move on, they know I'm getting impatient and I have a bad feeling." Then Kisuke gave a childish grin. "If he indeed traveled back in time like my research suggests, I'm rather interested to find out who we'll meet."

And with that, Kisuke pressed the remote and opened a new portal, this one cleanly oval-shaped instead of a messy crack like before. Then he and Yoruichi stepped through like the others had not so long ago.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Yuzu! Come to your darling papa!" Isshin ran towards his youngest daughter with arms out and a kissy face, but she ducked right under him and hugged her mom instead.

"Are you alright sweetie?" Masaki asked kindly while Isshin complained in the background about his daughter's preferences. "Why weren't you with Karin and Ichigo?"

"It was getting boring with all the grown-up talk so we went to do hide-and-seek a while ago. I got lost," Yuzu smiled like it was a good thing, but then frowned. "Did you find Karin and big brother?"

"No, but some of our new friends are going to find your brother and sister right now, so everything's going to be fine," her mom smiled in that special way that only a loving parent could, and Yuzu knew that no matter what had happened with her getting lost, everything was going to be okay. Suddenly there was a loud POP in the space next to Isshin, and Kisuke came tumbling through uninvited to land with his butt stuck in the air.

"Urahara!?"

"Isshin! How wonderful to see someone I know in this past world!"

"So the older Ichigo and everyone else who came through here _are_ from the future!"

"Most definitely. They're taking a much longer time to get back than expected, so I came here to retrieve them."

"And don't go forgetting me, I came too." Yoruichi jumped out from under Kisuke in cat form. Kisuke's nicely folded, tent-like posture hadn't crushed her at all. "Nice to see you again Isshin."

"Yoruichi!?"

"Do you know any other talking black cats?"

"Good point, can't say I do. But back to why you came, Ichigo and the others are out looking for well... Ichigo and Karin, so they'll be back in a while on their own time if you want to talk with them."

"That boy cannot stay out of trouble! No matter what age, if he's training or playing hide-and-seek! By the way, with two of them around it gets kind of confusing when you refer to either Ichigo."

"Well-"

"DADDY WHY IS THERE A TALKING CAT!?" Yuzu screamed pointing a shaky finger at Yoruichi. Then something occurred to her and she moved that finger to a thoughtful position on her lips instead. "Can I keep it if it doesn't belong to anyone?" Yuzu had a thing for cats. She would prove this later on in her life by finding another cat and naming it Cammy.

Everyone stared dumbstruck at the little girl, only to turn back to Yoruichi. They were sure there was steam coming out of her ears.

"You dare think... that I'm a PET!?"

"Calm down now! Yuzu didn't mean it!" Isshin said hurriedly waving his arms around. The scene was so comedic, that for the second time that day, everyone found themselves laughing uncontrollably, including Yoruichi. When it all died down, Kisuke stood up and cleared his throat.

"This is fun and all, but I have to warn you all, especially Ichigo, about something I've found out."

**OoOoOoOoO**

The espada opened a Grunriss, which was what his special time warping ability created. Then he stepped through to carry out the remainder of Lord Aizen's plan. Time to see if Ichigo Kurosaki really had what it took to pass this test and how he'd handled it so far. Lord Aizen had no use in his later plan for a man who wasn't strong in both soul _and_ body.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**I know I said there would be action, but this dragged out longer than I thought it would. There will definitely be action in the next few chapters though.**

**Please review so I know how I can do better! :)**

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	11. Chapter 11

**I just want to thank everyone for all the reviews I got for this story. It's a lot for a new fanfic, so I'm grateful. And I know this took longer than the rest, but I was in the middle of customizing and getting more settled into my fan fiction profile. I also went back through a Naruto phase and kind of pushed Bleach to the side for a bit. I can only love for one series at a time, it's hard to focus on them both simultaneously. But enough of that, here's the chapter! :)**

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Previous Karakura Park_

Ichigo found Karin hiding in the branches of a tree at the same time that Rukia found his younger self a quarter mile away.

"Hey Ichigo, I found Ichigo!" Rukia yelled. "Get over here Ichigo so you can meet Ichigo! We don't have all day Ichigo!" She then proceeded to tug the small orange-haired boy out of the bush he was crouching in. _Must have been a game of hide-and-seek for him to get into _this_ position,_ Rukia thought.

"Rukia quit messing around! You know it's confusing as hell when you talk about both of me like that!" came the angry reply. "Call me Ichigo and him Ichi or something like that. I'm bringing Karin over now." The older orange head came running around a tree towards Rukia with little Karin on his shoulders (much like carrying Nel). She'd become pretty friendly with the man from the future in a short amount of time. When he'd first found her, he'd acted so comfortable it was hard not to smile and laugh at his personality and warmth. This was a completely different side of the teen Karin had first gotten an impression of. On a subconscious level, she was able to sense her older brother in him, though she would deny it completely if asked. The feeling was on such a deep scale she didn't even know it was there.

"There you are. I have Ichi right here," Rukia used the new nickname for clarification and nodded to the boy she was currently trying to pull out of the brambles by his brown hoodie.

"Big brother? Are you stuck?" little Karin asked curiously.

"No, don't worry Karin, I can get out of this!" Ichi said, and he gave his little sister a huge smile. Rukia flinched with surprise. Her eyes darted between Ichigo and Ichi, comparing the beaming little boy to the scowling high schooler. The small action wasn't missed by Ichigo, who looked uncomfortable with the whole situation. Rukia shook her head quickly to Ichigo's relief. She could think about these kinds of things later. Rukia huffed with annoyance as she tried to yank the hoodie again. How did this kid get himself stuck so good? She smirked, unknowingly quoting Yoruichi from a short while earlier. _Always in trouble no matter what the age._

"I'm going to need your help Ichigo, Ichi here is wedged in here pretty tightly."

"Oh yeah, I remember now, his name is Ichigo too!" the younger one said. "Why's that?"

"It's pretty cool huh? You both are protectors, that's why," Rukia grinned at the younger boy. He was really cute, it was hard to imagine that the Ichigo she knew was like this at any point in time. The orange hair and brown eyes were the only things convincing her that this was really a younger version of her friend. She turned back to the said friend. "Now don't just stand there like an idiot, come on and help!"

"Yeah, sure thing," Ichigo hurried over and started to assist with the tugging while he observed Ichi subtly. He remembered how he used to act like this kid before Mom... He grunted and pulled harder. Karin's gaze wandered and she saw her parents coming with Yuzu from a distance. She ran to them with a squeal of joy. Orihime, Uryu, and Chad were with her parents, as they hadn't been able to find Karin before Ichigo and Rukia. They had already met up with Kisuke, who was in the middle of a conversation with Isshin. The two men nodded at each other and Kisuke ran off with a black cat who was probably Yoruichi, Rukia figured out, right before-

"Got it!" the two soul reapers said in unison as they finished pulling Ichi out of the bush. Unfortunately, he got scratched by some of the sharp thorns on the pesky shrub as he tumbled out. He sat there for a moment and stared at the two shallow cuts he had on his arm. Then he started to sniffle. Karin and Yuzu, seeing that their older brother was going to cry, ran over and started to join him. Pretty soon, all three kids were sobbing their eyes out. Then something extraordinary happened. Masaki calmly gathered them all together with a motherly smile on her face and hugged them gently but firmly. Ichi, Karin, and Yuzu's tears slowed to a stop and they started smiling at their mom. She looked at them with kind eyes and gave a little chuckle while putting two big Band-Aids on her son's arm. It took all of five seconds for the three kids to go from full out crying to full out laughing. It would've brought a smile to even Byakuya's stone face.

"That's so sweet," Orihime breathed softly to herself. Her heart felt like it was going to melt, the scene was so lovable and warm. Then she let it sink in that the beaming boy really _was_ the younger version of the usually scowling teen. "Ichigo, were you really..." she turned to look at the teen whose life had suddenly become so exposed. But he was gone, with only a few leaves fluttering to the ground where he'd been standing.

"Where'd he go?" Chad looked around, a little worried.

"He must really have loved his mom," Uryu said quietly while pushing his glasses up further onto his face. They glinted completely, so his eyes were unreadable.

"Ichigo never cries like that now," Orihime added with another whisper.

"Stop it all of you!" Suddenly Rukia shouted, breaking the quiet that had settled near the friends. "You can't stand around feeling sorry for him, it never works, believe me. Instead, we have to find him and drill some sense into that thick head of his. Come on!" she flash-stepped away with the others stumbling after her some distance behind.

Isshin had seen the entire thing, and he was baffled. Just when he thought he'd figured out these people and his older son too. He glanced over at his beloved wife, who was playing a game of tag with the kids. They were obviously winning, but only because she let them. What did the guy with glasses mean, what had happened to the Masaki in his _older_ son's time?

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	12. Chapter 12

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The unranked espada lightly touched down on a grassy park area. _So this is where Ichigo Kurosaki wound up,_ he mused. "Perfect for a psychological battle," was just what Lord Aizen had said when he had wondered about why he wanted this time for Ichigo Kurosaki. He hadn't known about the location though, and that and the people inside interested him. He glanced and tried to search for the test subject. There was his massive spiritual pressure coming... right towards this area. The hollow smiled, but not pleasantly. Let the battle begin.

**OoOoOoOoO**

He felt like a coward. Running away from his past like that, just because of the aching familiarity of it all. He never thought it would all come back, but that was no excuse. The whole situation was pathetic. And yet even though he knew he was hightailing it, he kept running. One foot after the other without looking back. At first, he'd just wanted to leave the past in place and get out of here with his friends. But now? Ichigo gritted his teeth. Deep, deep down, he wanted to stay with his mom like the little boy he was in this time. It was childish, but he hadn't seen his mom since he was nine, and here she was, finally recognizing him as her son, and he's still supposed to leave like nothing happened? _Damn it. I need some advice... Zangetsu! Yeah, I'll talk to him. _Ichigo slowed down his pace and then got out of his body, putting it against a nearby tree. He sat down with his zanpakuto on his lap. He'd never really done this properly, but the position felt right. Ichigo cast his mind into the inner depths of his soul, and when he opened his eyes he was sitting on a sideways skyscraper in his inner world.

It was raining.

The rain was stinging his skin like a watered-down acid, and it hurt. Not too bad, but still painful. If it had been like this every single time he'd ever gotten sad... _No wonder the old man hates the rain,_ Ichigo thought.

"Hey old man! You here?" the king called out, his voice echoing around the buildings. "Old man Zangetsu!"

"I'm right here Ichigo," the spirit said from behind him. He looked like he always did, with his ragged coat and glasses that only glinted on one side. He stood on his favorite pole in Ichigo's inner world. "Are you here to try and deal with the confusion in your heart? Are you here to stop the rain?"

"Yes."

"Very well then. I cannot solve your problems for you, but you certainly can if you have a clear mind." The sword glanced up at the sky, sensing something. "Someone has arrived."

"Is it that powerful espada," Ichigo said more than asked the question with his serious voice.

"Yes. Fight him to clear your mind. It has worked in the past, as battles have this effect on you."

"Got it. I know what to do now, thanks Zangetsu." Then he left Zangetsu in the rain and opened his eyes in the real world slowly, not flinching when his swamp-haired opponent appeared in front of him.

"Are you ready, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"Bring it on. BANKAI!"

**OoOoOoOoO**

Isshin blinked out of his thoughts as a now familiar spiritual pressure skyrocketed. It was Ichigo, and his friends seemed to have noticed the disturbance too.

"There he is," Chad already had his arm transformed so he could go and guard his friend's back. "Let's go everyone!"

"Right!"

"Just one moment," Ichigo's dad stopped them. "I won't interfere, but I want to see how my son fights when he's older. Would that be okay? Masaki can stay here and look after the kids like she's doing now, I don't want them to get involved."

Uryu hesitated, but then made the decision for the group. "I guess that would be alright. But like you said, you can't get involved, and neither should we for that matter." he looked at all of his frie- classmates, each one in the eye.

"You're right Uryu, this time around it's Ichigo's battle," Rukia said. "He has a score to settle with that espada for bringing him here." She carefully refrained from looking at any of his family, especially his mom. Chad retracted his armor.

"But we can still cheer him on. Let's go!" Orihime spoke up now and ran to the grassy clearing, and everyone followed her.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Their swords clashed fiercely and repeatedly, the only visual being orange sparks flying out everywhere that the blades smashed into each other. Ichigo and the espada were using high level flash step and sonido, and only the captains in the Soul Society or their Hueco Mundo equivalents would have been able to track their progress. They came together one more time and their zanpakuto pushed hard, fighting to overpower the other. Ichigo used the close range to his advantage.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" he fired off a beam of black and red light at the hollow who couldn't react fast enough. His arm was completely burned off, but the enemy just smiled like he'd already won.

"There's no way you can beat me soul reaper. You are unable to do this!" he released a burst of energy and his arm regenerated in less than five seconds. He grinned widely at his opponent's shock. "The only way to beat me is by a direct hit to my internal organs or if you can regenerate to keep up with me, but since you cannot do that, you are useless!" Green hair flicked back as the hollow bent over backward and laughed at the sky, completely losing himself in the fight. "Lord Aizen, what do you see in this human!?" he kept laughing loudly, making Ichigo angrier and angrier. How dare he insult him after everything he had to do to get stronger. "It looks like our little plan to test his strength was a complete failure!" Ichigo's enemy was still babbling to a nonexistent Aizen in the sky. "Ichigo Kurosaki is WEAK!" Ichigo's anger reached a peak, he didn't care what he might have to do to beat this monster who underestimated him. Even if that meant willingly unleashing his most darkest instinct. Suddenly-

"Hey you," a double toned voice rang out, unknowingly harmonizing with the deep laughter. "King let me out so I could maim you slowly and painfully, and he did it willingly," a certain glee came into the voice while a mask started forming over one side of Ichigo's face. "If I didn't want to tear you apart so much, I would be thanking you for this wonderful opportunity! YAAAAAAAAAHAAHAAHAAEEEEEAAAAH!"

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	13. Chapter 13

**This is the very last chapter. There might be an epilogue/sequel if I have a good idea for it.**

**Might.**

**Well, enjoy the conclusion to Visions. Reviews make me smile, though again I'm also very thankful for the ones I've gotten so far.**

**Thanks everyone! :)**

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A hideous cackle came from the area just up ahead as Ichigo's dad and his group of friends came running towards him. They stopped in their tracks when they heard the sound.

"This isn't good," Rukia muttered.

"Ichigo, I thought you controlled it," Orihime remembered seeing him training so hard to master his power.

"Let's go." Isshin sprinted ahead, and when he and the group arrived, all they saw was a figure standing next to black dust disintegrating in the air. Isshin was slightly miffed that he had missed the battle, but he was also happy that Ichigo was able to finish it so quickly. "You did it! Son, I'm so proud, you've gotten powerful. That hollow you fought really can laugh though!" The teen he was congratulating turned around and smiled.

"Oh I'm sorry, were you talking to Ichigo? He's out at the moment," the double tones echoed out over the now silent clearing.

"No I'm not!" Ichigo's familiar voice came out of the same body as the soul reaper's own hand reached up and grabbed the mask to tear it off.

"I helped you! You only won that because of my regeneration and fighting skills! YOU CAN'T JUST CAST ME AWAY NOW! GAAAAHHH!"

"This isn't for that, it's for taking over my body instead of just helping from the side!"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU THOUGHT WHEN YOU DRAGGED ME OUT!"

"Why don't you just GET OFF!" and with that, the mask fell to the ground in shards.

"Ichigo!" his friends rushed over towards him.

"I'm fine," he panted, letting his hand drop from his head.

"You have hollow powers!" the ex-captain had a look of goofy curiosity that wasn't that serious-looking on the outside, but inside he had a million emotions and questions. He made up his mind to ask Kisuke later, even though he might never get a chance to.

"Ichigo has many surprises up his sleeve, that's just one of them Isshin," Urahara seemed to pop out of the father's thoughts as he entered with Yoruichi, now in human form, beside him.

"Where were you? After we all met up you just ran off," Uryu demanded.

"None of yooooooour business!" Kisuke announced cheerily. After the grumbling died down, he got serious. "I was telling Isshin that the hollow Ichigo just killed was meant to-"

"Don't bother Kisuke. He told me all about it during our fight. Aizen sent him to test me mentally and physically for some reason," Ichigo relayed what the espada had so carelessly babbled out.

"Yes, you're right. It's for some future plans or experiments, but since Sosuke has done this multiple times it should come as no surprise now. The only thing we can take from this event is to train harder to prevent this or something like it from happening in the future."

"We already know that though," Chad said.

"I agree," Kisuke replied. "You guys have been working hard. But enough compliments, I didn't abandon you all earlier for nothing! I've set something up behind that hill that everyone needs to present for, including Ichigo's mom and the children."

Yoruichi took over the directions from there. "It's your job now to gather everyone where Kisuke specified, we have to say goodbye as well as..."

**OoOoOoOoO**

"We can't just forget about everything that's happened!" Masaki protested. "I just met my son as his future self, why would I ever forget something as wonderful as that?" As she argued, Chad noticed that Ichigo looked strangely touched.

"It's necessary, everyone here knows too much now. It will disrupt time and whatever the future has in store for us," Kisuke reasoned. After a silence where no one said anything, Urahara just decided to cast the kido. A turquoise light descended on everyone's heads and soaked into their hair, thankfully just making it glow instead of dying it. That would've been embarrassing.

"We have about two minutes before it takes complete effect and we lose our recent memories. Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Rukia, Ichigo, let's go before we forget how to go home," Urahara opened the portal with his remote (which would self destruct after they went through, the past should not be messed with again) and stepped back to his shop in the future. Everyone followed him partway, but they paused at the edge of the time crack to wait for their last friend, who stayed behind for a few seconds not knowing that his friends were watching and waiting. Ichigo glanced at the pile of sleeping kids in his goofy dad's arms and he looked at his mom's kind face.

"This is goodbye, I guess," Ichigo turned away with hidden emotions and was about to step through the portal when he felt arms around him. His mom was hugging her future son with the motherly love she knew he needed at that moment, and he didn't trust himself to speak.

"Goodbye, Ichigo. I love you with all my heart, you should know that," she whispered. Ichigo froze up for a second, but then he slowly turned around and hugged his mom back hard, allowing only a single tear to fall down his cheek, and no more. His friends sadly watched from the sidelines with new insight on their friend. Mother and Son hugged for a full thirty seconds before Ichigo said the words that he hadn't spoken in so long to his mom.

"I love you too." Then he followed his friends and stepped back to his own time for good, and everyone simply... forgot.

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	14. Chapter 14

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**Huzzah everyone there _is_ a sequel posted! Huzzah huzzah! Go check it out, it's called Visions 2 (pretty easy to remember). Don't forget to read Heart of the Family as well, and review for everything!**

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